Sreemay Rath, a Class 12 student is already out with his fourth book, Covetous, DNA talks to him about his writing
'To my neck as I called you and let you slit my throat. Before backing out like prepubescent angst-wanting but not ready'.
These words are from 'Oblivion Pain', one of the 60 poems written by Class 12 student, Sreemay Rath, in his book 'Covetous'. The month-old book, published by Blue Rose Publishers in Delhi, already made it to Amazon's bestseller list.
Sixteen-year-old Rath, a Humanities student from the Navy Children School in Mumbai, already has three books to his name: The first, a book of short stories called 'A Tryst with the Devil' — about a girl Junnifer who encounters paranormal activity after she comes across the spirit of the devil's pet dog, followed by two books on poetry — 'Forty Poetic Silhouettes' and 'Fifty Five Ballandries of Sorts'. These books were self-published through a contract with Kindle Young, Amazon's campaign that offers a three-book contract and free publishing of 350 copies to chosen budding writers.
Rath began writing in Class 4 when he felt that the endings of stories and poems could've been better. "I began writing my own stories and mailing them to magazines, newspapers and publishing houses and that's how I won the three-book deal from Amazon." It was in Class 6 that he first read a poem by John Keats, To Autumn, and resonated with the prose. From then on, he began exploring sonnets, haiku and 15-line poems. That his grandfather wrote poetry in Oriya, he acknowledges, could also be a catalyst. "Most of my poems are melancholic and exemplify ordeals that teenagers undergo. I'm a keen observer of people and hastily pen down thoughts in between class or on the bus home. I then compile them into poems when I get home," says Rath who posts his poetry verses under the pseudonym, 'mortalparable', on Instagram.
The self-confessed introvert writes diligently for an hour everyday, even during exams, starting at 12am. "To perfect something, you have to practice it. Poetry motivates me to align my emotions on paper even if it's after spend 8-9 hours in school or during exams." Another daily ritual Rath partakes in is reading Sylvia Plath's 'The Mad Girl Song' that starts off with, 'I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead; I lift my lids and all is born again'. "It serves as an inspiration to instigate the pen. It reminds me why I got into writing poetry."
Rath harbours the dream to become either an Indian Forest Service officer or a Diplomat at the United Nations. What keeps him so driven? He quotes John Nash's character in 'A Beautiful Mind', "'Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.'"
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